Quotes About Empathy

Smashing heads does not open minds.

The biggest mistake is believing there is one right way to listen, to talk, to have a conversation — or a relationship.

Both women and men could benefit from learning each other's styles. Many women could learn from men to accept some conflict and difference without seeing it as a threat to intimacy, and many men could learn from women to accept interdependence without seeing it as a threat to their freedom.

We all want, above all, to be heard. We want to be understood—heard for what we think we are saying, for what we know we meant.

Knowing that somewhere in the world there is someone who cares what you wore, an insignificant detail of your life that would seem unimportant to anyone else, makes you feel more connected to that person and less alone in the world.

It's important to remember that others' ways of talking to you are partly a reaction to your style, just as your style with them is partly a reaction to their style—with you.

Often, focusing on the words spoken precludes figuring out what sparked a crisis, because the culprits are not words but tone of voice, intonation, and unstated implications and assumptions.

Yet another man commented that women seem to wallow in their problems, wanting to talk about them forever, whereas he and other men want to get them out and be done with them.

Women and men would both do well to learn strategies more typically used by members of the other group— not to switch over entirely, but to have more strategies at their disposal.

He stared at Esmelda with a face like glass, nothing hidden. What I saw there wasn't steel or fire or stone. Feelings stirred in me and I had to look away. I knew what I saw because I'd felt them, too — understanding, sadness, compassion...forgiveness.

I feel sorry for anybody who would let hate wrap them up. Ain't no such thing as I can hate anybody and hope to see God's face. —Fannie Lou Townsend Hamer

Sometimes you just need a book near you and you can't explain why.

A real friend sees past the trouble and into your heart

People like to feel good about themselves. Dating is the perfect opportunity to do that for someone else. Make them feel like they're attractive and interesting. Focus on your date rather than worrying about what he or she is thinking of you.

Don't be afraid of looking dumb or saying the wrong thing. Laughing at yourself is the best way to develop a sense of humor (if you don't already have one) and, at the same time, make people feel less threatened by you.

Here are some other examples of digging deeper into a conversation: You ask, How have you been? and get the reply, Busy. Follow-up responses could include: How do you deal with being busy? What is going on that's got you so busy? Describe a busy day for you. Do you like being busy? Does there seem to be a cycle of busy-ness during your year? Do you remember a time in your life when you weren't as busy?

One never really knew what went on inside the hearts of other people, even those hearts you thought you knew as well as your own.

If you can't make people happy, you shouldn't tie them to you.

What we say is never about what we say; what we say is about who we are talking to. What we say is a tool to change our hearers.

High-tide grief calls for empathy, not solutions.

Toro Seduto] non riusciva a capire come gli uomini bianchi potessero essere così incuranti dei loro poveri. "L'uomo bianco sa fare tutte le cose," disse "ma non sa come distribuirle.

When Joseph died on September 21, 1904, the agency physician reported the cause of death as "a broken heart.

You can't leave out half the world's experience and expect to address all the problems. Women communicate differently and process information differently, which leads them to resolve conflicts differently.

If people believe you're on their side, they will trust your decisions.